Toby
by collegegirl2805
Summary: When a young boy comes into the special victims unit headquarters he brings with him a terrible tale, of kidnapping and abuse, all in the hopes that it will help to reunite him with his family
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer:

I don't own Law and Order: SVU

Chapter 1

Toby looked once more at the New York police department sign stamped across the building in front of him, hoping it would help to firm up his resolve and chase away the knots in his stomach.

These were the good guys, the police, whose only job was to protect people, like him. And boy did he need protecting. This wasn't the first time he had come to stand outside the tall brick building, but it was the first time he was seriously contemplating going inside.

More than contemplating, he told himself. He needed to do this, he needed to make sure that no body else got hurt by the man. He slowly reached inside his jeans pocket and retrieved the card he had been holding for months now with the name and information of Detective Eliot Stabler.

He could trust this man, he was Dicky's dad, Toby told himself, and he trusted Dicky, who had saved Toby from countless bullies and was one of Toby's only friends.

Slowly he walked into the building, this wasn't so bad he told himself. He let a slight smile cover his face. If he could do this, how hard could the rest of it be, all he had to do was tell the truth.

He had long ago memorized the department level for where Eliot Stabler worked and he took the steps to the fourth floor with ease. Then as he came upon the door to the right department, for special victims, he took a deep breath and pushed open the door.

He was met with a cacophony of noise. Everyone was talking at once and their mixed voices were overwhelming, but Toby couldn't turn back now. Think about the doctor, he told himself. Think about mom and dad. More than anything he wanted to see them again, and if this was what he had to do then he would.

The front desk… like he had practiced a hundred times before Toby walked over to the person behind the desk. "Please, can I speak to…" The women with thick curly hair and tortoise shell glasses held up a finger to silence him. Oh, well…Toby felt this confidence dwindle and thought about making a run for it. Nobody had even noticed him yet…

Just as he was about to turn around, like the cowardly dog he was, he felt a hand on his shoulder. His instinct took over and he jumped away… he hated when people touched him now. But then he heard the voice, it was the same voice he had heard once before and he knew the person it belonged to, "Hey…sorry." It was Mr. Stabler, finally. I could see recognition in his eyes and something else, as if somehow he already knew why I was there.

"You're one of Dicky's friends," he said squinting, as if he were trying to solve a puzzle. Mr. Stabler quickly concealed whatever he was thinking with what I like to call a kid smile, one of those smiles adults use when they're playing the part of nice adult.

I wanted to tell him that I wasn't an innocent child, I may look like a regular 10 year-old on the outside, but on the inside I felt like an old person, who had seen the ugliness of the world. I think Mr. Stabler was waiting for me to say something, but all of a sudden I was mute; there was a claw rapped around my throat and I couldn't get a word out of my mouth.

He moves to a squatting position and now we're eye to eye. I don't usually like adults so close, but there's something about him…he's like the doctor, he makes me feel safe. "You know I can always tell when there's something Dicky wants to tell me, and right now I can tell there's something you want to say…" He's waiting for me to say something again, but the claw is still firmly clenched around my throat. "How about me and you go and get a coke and talk about whatever it is you want to say. "I think about it. This is my last chance to run, but I think about why I'm here, about the doctor, my mom, and my dad, and give him a slow nod.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Don't own anything :(

Author's note: Hey guys sorry the update took a while. I'm working on a couple of different stories :) Hope you enjoy

Chapter 2

Mr. Stabler had paid for two cokes from a vending machine, and I still carried the unopened one he had given to me, when we entered a room. It was filled with stuffed animals, dolls, action figures, and drawing supplies. Every kids dream, the knots in my stomach doubled in size, and I stepped away from the door leading into the room feeling sick. I tried to tell myself this was different, that this was a police station. But this room was too much like another room I had been in, a room I had hated.

I look at Mr. Stabler who was still standing at the door, and staring at me, looking worried. I can feel myself shaking and all of a sudden I'm yelling, "NO! I don't want to… I don't want to go in there!"

Mr. Stabler looks from me to the room and I can't tell what he's thinking. Then the door is closed and I can't see the room any more. Relieved I take a few shuttering breathes, trying to calm down. I can see a few people have stopped what they were doing and are stare at me. Blushing I look at Mr. Stabler and repeat quietly, "I don't want to go in there."

He nods, but I can tell he's rattled, but there is no way I'm going in that room. He takes me to another room that looks comfortable with two coach chairs and a desk in between, and a wall length mirror along one side. I've seen enough tv shows to wonder if there's something on the other side, but don't ask Mr. Stabler about it. I was pretty sure he'd deny it either way, so why bother. He nodded for me to take one of the two chair in the room and I do, welcoming the comfort of finally being off my feet. I had walked for over an hour that morning too afraid to take any other mode of transportation. I didn't want the man to find me and walking out in the open with plenty of people around as witnesses made me feel better.

"So… how about we start with something easy," Mr. Stabler asked has he took the seat across from the desk. "Can you tell me you're name?" Easy I wanted to say, that wasn't an easy question, especially since for the past few years he had been lying to everyone about it.

"My real one?" I asked warily. That seemed to make Mr. Stabler smile.

"Well, you could always give me a fake one, but I probably won't be able to help you if you can't even tell me you're name right?"

Slowly I nodded, of course I was going to have to give him my name, "Toby," I muttered quietly.

"Do you have a last name Toby?" Mr. Stabler asked. A last name? Toby knew he had to have had one at one point, but he couldn't seem to remember, sadly he shrugged and tried not to meet Mr. Stabler's eyes. How sad was that, I couldn't even remember my own name, but I guess it's natural to forget after such a long time. "The man gave me a last name, but it's not real," I say in a whisper. Looking up I could see worry and sadness in Mr. Stabler's eyes.

"Toby…how long have you been away from you're family?"

How long? Well, it felt like an eternity, but that probably wasn't the answer Mr. Stabler was looking for. "I guess…" I could feel the tears going now and I tried to swat them away, "I g-guess f-five years," I stammered.

I could hear Mr. Stabler's sharp intake of breath, but couldn't bear to meet his eyes. "And how old are you now?" he asked trying to keep his voice steady.

"I think eleven…" honestly I wasn't really sure, the day the man took me was so hazy and I could only remember bits and pieces of a time before then. "I think I was five or six when he took me, when I started school, after I went to live with the doctor, we decided I could be eleven. He said starting middle school would be easier and there would be less questions," I tried to make my tone steady, but I could still hear the tremble in it.

"Okay, Toby…I'm going to help you. I'm going to talk to some other detectives and then we're going to take you're picture. As soon as we take you're picture we can try to match it up to one of our missing persons cases."

"Ummm…" I didn't want to say anything, but I knew I needed to. "I don't think I was born here," I wanted them to find my family and that meant they needed to know as much as I could give them.

"Do you know where you were born," Mr. Stabler asked. He looked worried. If Toby wasn't born in the United States, this could become an international incident and Detective Stabler that his boss hated those.

"Well, I think I'm from England, but my parents had to work in Canada for a little bit. We were going to move back in a couple weeks I think before the man took me. I… I remember cause the man didn't like my accent, he said I had to start talking like an American," I said, remembering the man made a shiver run down my spine.

"Thanks Toby," and then he got up and walked out of the room, leaving Toby alone with his thoughts, and still wondering if he was doing the right thing.


End file.
